Hello Brilliant Change Agents!

What a zany year 2016 was! Yes, zany. Some gleaming things did happen this year despite tremendous defeats. We must continue to mourn the loss of some monumental change agents including Mattie Colin, Jack Greenberg, David Bowie, Prince, Ruth Guber, Zaha Hadid, Vera Rubin, and most recently George Michaels, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Renolds, and Piers Sellers. These humans contributed so much to the betterment of humankind and acknowledging them with gratitude is the least we can do.

Some amazing social change did occur in 2016. Senator Elizabeth Warren smacked down Wells Fargo. The tiger population rose. India planted 10,000 trees in one day. We made it to Jupiter. Over 2000 veterans mobilized to support Standing Rock. Some incredible women of color were elected into high political seats. And, the Cubs winning the world series produced the 7^th largest peaceful gathering in the world. That’s a ton to celebrate and create a huge platform for people to find common ground!

For me personally, this new year brings a lot of anxiety. I am practicing techniques to manifest my anxiety into fuel for the cause. I am invigorated to have my boots on the ground, fighting for what I believe in. I want to scream social justice and find ways, even though the obstacles are greater than ever, to make life more equitable for everyone. My dream is that as a society, we find courage and strength on an individual level and hold ourselves accountable for the future of everyone.

For the Project Kinect team, 2017 will be a huge year. We are working on a couple large endeavors in the realm of community engagement and visioning. These actions will assist in adding positions to our team and better become a sustainable social business our community can rely on. Additionally, we have been hired by some really great new organizations and events to assist in further delivering inspiring social change. We can’t wait!

Our two large annual events, the Social Change Forum and the Fall Food Cart Fest are growing in 2017. The Social Change Forum on March 2^nd will have more seats available so more change agents can participate. The Fall Food Cart Fest will be moved downtown to mesh within the amazing vibrations of everything happening on the east side/downtown.

I am personally so thankful that Project Kinect is in its third year here in Madison. My enormous gratitude goes out to all of you in assisting to make Madison Project Kinect’s home.